Our national reverence for the landing at Gallipoli seems to be at the cost of Remembrance Day — a more significant day to Australian WW1 troops, argues Dr Glenn Davies.
We as a nation are so transfixed by Gallipoli and the Anzac Legend that it is difficult for us to look past that well-intended but ineffectual campaign to the main event — the battles on the Western Front where the war was actually won.
This is despite the fact that Australians played such an enormous part in winning that war in Belgium and France — where the trench lines were known as Germany's western front.
On Remembrance Day last year, 11 November 2013, Jonathan King wrote in The Age, that
‘Australians are so obsessed with the Gallipoli debacle that the achievements on the Western Front are pushed into the background.’
Australian war correspondent Charles Bean, who lived with the Australian troops at Gallipoli and on the Western Front, wrote in 1919:
‘Anzac achievements on the Western Front were never recognised by Australians back home, even though they were greatly appreciated by those closer to the war - the British, French and even the Germans.’
This year, the Western world will be embroiled in some of history's largest commemorations — the 100th anniversary of World War I, known as the Great War, and the War to End all Wars. That is, all the Western world apart from Australia. The commemorations start on 4 August 2014 ‒ the centenary of the outbreak of World War I in Belgium ‒ but Australia won’t be participating as we are focussed instead on 25 April 2015.
World War I (1914-1918) is known as the 'Great War' and the 'war to end all wars'. In that conflict, the most important battleground was the Western Front in France and Belgium, where great battles were fought with names that were once household words in Australia — Fromelles, the Somme, Bullecourt, Messines, Passchendaele and Villers-Bretonneux.
Of the more than 295,000 Australians who served in this theatre of war in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), 46,000 lost their lives and 132,000 were wounded. One of these was my Great-Great Uncle, Walter Steward.
Dotted across the landscape of France and Belgium are hundreds of war cemeteries and memorials where these soldiers lie buried or where their names are listed among those thousands who have 'no known grave, the 'missing'. In fact, the ‘unknown soldier’ interred at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra fought on the Western Front.
Tyne Cot Cemetery – Zonnebeke, Belgium
At 11 am on 11 November 1918, after more than four years of continuous fighting in Belgium and northern France, firing ceased along the Western Front. Following the failure of German offensives in the first half of 1918 and the success of allied armies in the second half of 1918, the Germans in November called for the suspension of fighting, an armistice, as a prelude to a peace settlement.
The war did not formally end until 28 June 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles was signed but the anniversary of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month attained a special significance and Armistice Day became the opportunity for the annual remembrance of those who had died or who had suffered in the war.
After the end of the Second World War, the name ‘Armistice Day’ was changed to Remembrance Day so that day would commemorate all war dead. As a mark of respect to those who have suffered and died, people in Australia are encouraged to stop what they are doing at 11 am to observe one minute’s silence and reflect on the loss and suffering caused by war.
As the Anzac legend has continued to grow, so too has the numbers swelled at Anzac Day celebrations. Now, Remembrance Day is little known in Australian society and it is the 2015 Anzac Cove celebrations that are receiving the main focus during the 1914-1918 centenary celebrations. So much so that if you’re considering visiting Gallipoli in 2015 for the centennial celebrations then it may be best to go sometime after Saturday, 25 April.
Although attending Anzac Day commemorative services at Gallipoli in 2015 will be a truly moving and unique experience for any Australians it will also be the most busy and difficult time to visit the Gallipoli Peninsula. In an effort to control these numbers, the Australian and New Zealand Governments opened a ballot for places at Anzac Day centenary commemorations at Gallipoli in 2015 on 15 November 2013, which will close next Friday — 31 January 2014.
The Anzac Commemorative Site can safely hold 10,500 people and, in 2015, this will include places for 8,000 Australians, 2,000 New Zealanders and up to 500 official representatives of all countries that served in the Gallipoli campaign. After allocation of places to widows and children of Gallipoli veterans and VIPs, the 6,000 public places will be balloted as 3,000 double passes. Successful applicants can choose anyone for the accompanying pass. They will have to pay all travel and accommodation costs.
Further information on the ballot is available at http://www.gallipoli2015.dva.gov.au. There is only one way to register your interest — through the official government ballot. Register at the Department of Veterans' Affairs Gallipoli 2015 website or call Ticketek for a paper application form on 1300 364 002.
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